China's Sinopec To Take 5% Stake In Qatar's LNG Project

In response to state news agency QNA, China's state-owned oil and gas giant Sinopec will take a 5% stake in Qatar's North Field East expansion, which is part of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

Sinopec did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

QatarEnergy previously stated that it could offer up to a 5% stake in the project to some buyers, whom QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi referred to as "value-added partners."

Last November, Sinopec signed an agreement with QatarEnergy to supply 4 million tonnes of LNG annually for the next 27 years, making it the longest LNG contract ever signed by Qatar.

Sinopec stated at the time that the agreement was part of a "integrated partnership," implying that the Chinese firm was considering acquiring a stake in Qatar's North Field expansion export facility.

QatarEnergy signed five contracts last year for North Field East, the first and larger phase of the two-phase North Field expansion plan, which includes six LNG trains that will increase Qatar's liquefaction capacity to 126 million tonnes per year by 2027 from 77 million tonnes now.

It also signed three agreements for collaboration on the Gulf Arab state's North Field South expansion.

QatarEnergy has stated that it intends to retain a 75% stake in the North Field expansion, which is expected to cost at least $30 billion, including the construction of liquefaction export facilities.

The North Field is part of the world's largest gas field, which Qatar shares with Iran, which refers to its portion as the South Pars.